twangster

It will most likely post to the main front page section of the website at royalvcaribbeanblog.com instead of the message boards.

Not sure why it doesn't appear like her sisters. Give them a call to book it.

See this blog post: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2021/09/13/spotted-royal-caribbean-adds-new-way-add-covid-19-vaccine-card-its-app

I'm not sure they have enabled it for all ships yet. I've seen it for Indy in November and Freedom this month but not Allure or Harmony. In the app it becomes step 3 of the check in process, after entering ID like passport then choosing an arrival appointment.

Testing positive and using any credit from that towards an upgrade has no bearing on eligibility for double points. The double points promo will look at the cruise booking and the date it became a confirmed booking to see if a booking qualifies for double points. Then it looks at the "booked category" such as studio, interior, oceanview, balcony, suite, etc. It doesn't look into how payments were made to satisfy the overall cost of the cruise. Upgrading a booking from a non-suite to a suite (without using RoyalUp) isn't tied to a payment type. When you upgrade a booking two things must occur. The cabin category changes to reflect the new "booked category" is now a suite and then you pay any additional amount due because you upgraded. Payment of the new balance doesn't have to occur until final payment due date if you ask to be upgraded before final payment, or if you ask to be upgraded after final payment then a payment is due immediately to cover the cost of the upgrade. However payment occurs, a new FCC is applied, a new credit card payment is made, etc. it has no bearing on the booking eligibility for double points. RoyalUp is the only upgrade method that doesn't provide more points for upgrading cabins. If booked a balcony and use RoyalUp to move into a suite your "booked category" is still a balcony while your "sailed category" is a suite. The double points promo will use the "booked category" of balcony for the basis of double points if the date of the booking makes it eligible for double points.

What does your TA think?

Pre-pandemic I saw rates around $12 per spin session but it's not something I tracked ship to ship.

I think the issue for Voyager class, Freedom class, Quantum class and Oasis class for the Panama Canal is the side profile of the ship as much as the height. Take a close look at the NCL Joy, Bliss and Encore of their Breakaway Plus class. The ships have no protrusions beyond the side profile of the ship until you are at or above the lifeboats. The lifeboats tuck into the profile of the ship. The Escape is the exception in this class - her lifeboats do protrude from the sides of the ship. Royal ships in the classes above have lifeboats and platforms that extend out from the ship. The canal has limits on these and they must start above 55' from the water line. Otherwise they would damage the ship and the canal as they scrape down the canal or take out buildings and things like railings, signs and light poles along the sides of the canal locks. You can't just look at the ship dimensions found on wiki pages and declare the ships fit in the new locks or under the bridge. Oasis class can do the Suez canal from what has been reported.

When you eat in CK the portion of the daily gratuity that would go to the MDR covers CK. Tipping beyond that is at your discretion in CK or at specialty. When I use a C&A BOGO I tip differently because in that case no gratuity for both meals has been captured.

It's a fake photoshop picture from somebody with a sense of humor. The original locks pictured are 110' wide. Oasis is 147' wide at the water line. It's a joke.

Showgirls. No Broadway show.

Backwards. Like i said... Carnival.

That's a Carnival ship... since Carnival loves to copy Royal but on a smaller scale.

I guess this gets me out of YASBCLB on Freedom next weekend. Maybe our ships will cross wakes, I think our ports are reversed from yours.

The other reason to drive your own vehicle is so that you don't have to figure out how to get back to the other terminal if you leave your vehicle parked at the first terminal. Debarking at the end of cruise two it's always nice to have your vehicle right there. If you are parking at an offsite 3rd party lot that changes things.

Next OBC is not fixed. The critical words are "up to $X". Solo impacts the OBC but also the rate influences Next OBC. I scored some really great deals on Star Class bookings at Next and netted $300 in OBC. I once booked a Going, Going, Gone rate and got zero in Next OBC. It's usually less too for refundable fares. So... it depends. If in doubt go back and ask them.

Opened ended enough to give lots of wiggle room. Not Australia. Royal doesn't do Europe in the winter so once could eliminate that region too. Galveston could qualify. Bayonne soon enough once Anthem comes home. US home ports could be considered core and no reason why Bayonne and Galveston can't run or be offered at the same capacity as Florida. Guests may not book to capacity but who is to say the ships are not available at capacity. "we expect to essentially" is also somewhat elusive. No investor can sue them over that ambiguity. Core market could also mean the drive to cruise market. Bayonne and Baltimore have high drive to guest volumes. I imagine Galveston does as well. That's not to say no one is flying to cruise this year, just that the core volume of guests will be drive to market guests.

Now a days they encourage parents to leave their kids in the clubs on board if they want to self explore since unvaccinated kids can only leave the ship on Royal excursions. If you want to self explore you have no choice but to leave your kids on board.

Pre-pandemic sometimes Royal would notice the consecutive cruise on another ship in the area and sometimes they would offer transportation. It still meant dealing with luggage as you have to possess all your luggage to clear through customs debarking the first ship. I often found it challenging to find the bus that would take me to the next ship. Outside of the terminal on debark day is often hectic. The majority of people are leaving the ship and trying to get on a bus to the airport. There are no ship crew outside the terminal. There are usually no Royal employees out there. There are bus drivers and transportation coordinators for the bus company trying to deal with the majority of folks looking for the right airport bus. With persistence, when they offered a bus between ships you can eventually find the right bus. It's usually just one and later in the process so you have to wander from bus to bus asking over and over "Is this the bus for Serenade in Port Everglades?" or whatever the next ship is while dragging your luggage with you. I've been fortunate to have been offered such transportation a number of times and each time I almost give up and look for an Uber. Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful for the offer of free transportation, but it isn't always a smooth process.

Before the pandemic I met a couple in the lounge who had a close encounter with missing the ship in Cozumel. They arranged a dive with a local operator and put their kid in AO for the day. Winds picked up and the dive boat tried but couldn't drop them off where they had departed from near the ship. Instead the small dive boat was directed to go downtown where there is more of a harbor and the dive boat could make the dock. That would mean a taxi to the ship and missing the ship with the time lost. There was a lot of shouting back and forth between the pier and the dive boat crew. Eventually the dive boat operator told them if they want to make the ship they'll need to jump in and swim to the pier. So they did. That set off off the police who freaked out that people were swimming to the pier and bypassing the checkpoint to get on the pier. Royal crew saw this unfolding, intervened and they were allowed back on the ship. There was no way they were going to miss the ship with their kid alone on board.

Why does that make me uptight? I choose not to sit on the grass waiting outside. I learned my lesson - don't show up early. I arrive at the time they assign to me. I have no issue with their boarding process nor do I with the other cruise lines that enforce arrival times. I simply find something to do and coordinate my arrival to comply. I don't have an expectation that the cruise lines must accommodate me whenever I feel like showing up. Many cruise lines are enforcing arrival times. Cruising during the restart isn't for everyone. If not being allowed into the terminal anytime you want is a show stopper for you then avoiding cruising right now may be a good idea.

Don’t think we’ll see any Oasis class in the Panama Canal any time soon as they don’t fit. She’ll go through the Suez though. And with that it will make those December dates in Asia… difficult.

When I sailed Carnival it only took one time of being rejected and sitting on the grass surrounded by a bunch of smokers for me to learn that lesson. Never again. Carnival was absolute about it. At 1:55pm they were still rejecting 2pm people. The lesson learned was to not show up early. It's not the cruise lines job to find you something to do until it's your time. That's on you. Make a plan now.

It has to become part of your cruise planning but it varies by city. Some have attractions nearby, some ports are more or less in an area with little to do. When a port is close to attractions then it might be worth the cost to drop your luggage at the ship and leave the port area even if that means a few extra dollars with a taxi or Uber. When a port is off on it's own far away from anything worthy then you need to consider where you can store your luggage while you do something. A hotel you stayed at the night before can be great for that while checking out of your room on time. Where as before the default action action was head to the cruise port and wait it out that can't be the default any more. Research the city and port then make a plan before you arrive. Maybe it means renting a car instead of defaulting to Uber or hotel transfers and waiting it out at the terminal hoping for early boarding. With a rental car you can drop luggage off at the ship then you are free to explore.

Back burner waiting for brighter days. Ships may be sailing on a limited basis in some regions but they are a long way from getting investors back to a happy place. I'm betting Perfect Day Lelepa doesn't progress much until then. Oasis class downunder and PD Lelepa will probably happen one day. However if destinations in the region and ports within Australia are suffering the same crush and blow to the balance sheet that will delay expansion to accommodate larger ships I think it just kicks the can down the road many more years into the future. It will still happen, eventually, but ships are not sailing yet there and that has to happen before you can even think about picking up enough momentum to look at these kinds of investments and future changes being put back on the radar screen. The extended shutdown in the region doesn't bode well for the industry jumping back in the pool with both feet first and eyes closed. It's going to take some time. Baby steps. Get ships sailing first. See how the consumer base embraces the industry that was and still is being blamed. Then they can consider long term plans for the region again. That applies to the whole industry from the ports and the destinations to the cruise lines themselves. The cruise lines are just one part of a larger industry. As much as cruising is making a comeback in places like the US they are still struggling to load ships here. How will the Australian consumer respond once ships are given the clearance to sail? If consumers are slower to embrace the industry downunder it's going to be a long time. If consumers respond better than they have in the US it will come quicker.